A New Life in Fairy Tail

”It’s most likely that his strength met the requirement, and he had no other major issues, so the Council had to make him a Wizard Saint,” Bob said softly from the side.

Noah was still confused. ”But his magic power... anyone with any perception at all wouldn’t consider him a good person.”

”He can just claim that his type of magic is what influences his aura, making it feel evil. The main point is that no one has any hard evidence that he has violated any important regulations. Given his strength, the Council had no choice but to handle it according to the rules,” Goldmine added.

Noah nodded. He understood. Even knowing that a person’s magic reflects their heart—and that Jose’s evil magic reflected that he was not a good person—without clear proof of any major crimes, the Council had to pinch their noses and grant him the title of Wizard Saint for the sake of order in the magic world. It was just like Gildarts; despite his immense strength, he would never get the title because his destructive lifestyle was well-documented, and the evidence was conclusive.

But looking at Jose’s smug expression, he seemed to have some misconceptions. Every time he mentioned the Ten Wizard Saints, he couldn’t suppress his grin. He showed not a single shred of respect for Makarov, a senior who had been a Wizard Saint for a very long time, speaking as if their status and strength were equal.

Noah looked at Jose’s flushed, gloating face and couldn’t help but say, ”He seems a bit stupid. Does he really think being named a Wizard Saint is the finish line?”

”He is a bit stupid. He just hasn’t seen enough of the world,” Bob and Goldmine both agreed. They had teamed up with Makarov, Porlyusica, and Yajima in their youth, traveling far and wide and seeing countless strange things. They naturally understood how big the world was. The title of Wizard Saint only meant your strength had reached a certain level; it didn’t mean that others who weren’t chosen were weak. Moreover, there were huge gaps in power between the Saints themselves, gaps larger than most ordinary people could imagine.

Just then, the atmosphere between Makarov and Jose became hostile. A look of anger appeared on Makarov’s face, while a mocking expression appeared on Jose’s.

It turned out that after their greeting, Jose, who had already had a lot to drink and had been stewing over Makarov’s bragging about his guild members, had come over to say, ”Big Brother Makarov, Phantom Lord is the strongest guild in Fiore.”

”Mhm.” Makarov wasn’t interested in the ”strongest guild” title and just grunted.

Jose, who was clearly drunk, continued proudly, ”We have the strongest magic, the strongest talent, and the most money in this country. That Gildarts and Ur you mentioned... one just destroys everything, and the other one used to have a bit of a reputation, but she disappeared a long time ago. She probably just resurfaced recently because she’s all washed up. Who else in your guild is even famous? The rest of those people you mentioned are just a bunch of little brats.”

He paused, then looked directly at Noah, who was standing behind the other two masters. With a mocking tone, he said to Makarov, ”And that must be the famous Noah, the one who supposedly became S-Class at the age of eight. Just as I thought. His achievements are all fake.”

As soon as he said it, Makarov’s polite smile vanished.

Jose, however, continued with a disdainful smile. ”Became S-Class at eight? Is that some kind of joke? Even I couldn’t become S-Class at eight. How could he? And then they said he defeated Deliora. Look at him now, not a trace of magic power. He’s probably just someone who isn’t strong but is good at hiding his aura. Big brother, you can’t let someone like that ruin your guild’s reputation. You should kick him out as soon as possible.”

Jose didn’t even consider the possibility that Noah might actually be strong. That thought had barely formed in his mind before he dismissed it. The stronger someone was, the harder it was to hide their power. Even if they used a special concealment magic, who was he? He was a Wizard Saint! Could someone really hide their power completely in front of him? Absolutely impossible. The only explanation was that he was weak to begin with and was just using a concealment spell. He was completely convinced of his own judgment.

Jose spoke as if he were giving Makarov good advice, but Makarov was so angry that veins were popping on his forehead. ”Are you insulting a member of my guild?”

”Not at all. I am merely stating the facts. Big brother, you mustn’t let someone like that affect your guild.”

Makarov was so agitated that the vein on his forehead throbbed. He suppressed his rage and said, ”To be honest, whether my guild is the strongest or not doesn’t matter to me. But I will absolutely not accept such an insult to my guild members. Since you just became a Wizard Saint, why don’t we have a little spar?”

”Do you want to tear this place apart?” Jose’s expression suddenly became arrogant when he heard Makarov’s challenge.

Makarov, however, had calmed down. ”It’s just a little spar. We’ll control our power so we don’t destroy our surroundings. Don’t tell me you can’t even do that?”

”Of course I can. But you’d better be careful, Big Brother Makarov. I would hate to injure you.”

Just as Makarov was about to say something, Noah stepped up behind him and said softly, ”Gramps, why don’t you let me? He was talking about me, after all. And I’d like to see just how strong this Wizard Saint is.”

”No.” Makarov refused without a second thought. He didn’t know the full extent of Noah’s power by now, but he knew he could handle Jose. But that was precisely the problem. If they started to fight seriously, Noah might get hurt, and how could he let one of his children get hurt right in front of him? As long as he was here, he wouldn’t let that happen. Besides, it was better for him to handle this matter, as they were equals in status and strength.

”You’re not going to let the little brat try? Since he wants to see the strength of a Wizard Saint, let him see it. It would also be a good chance to help you expose him for the fraud he is,” Jose taunted, looking at Noah with a mocking gaze.

Noah was about to step forward, but Makarov blocked him. Seeing the unquestionable look in his grandfather’s eyes, Noah knew he wouldn’t be able to fight Jose. He had no choice but to step back and rejoin Bob and Goldmine.

~~~

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